Pema Chodron shares in her Lojong / Tonglen teaching, the many mindfulness slogans brought to America by Chögyam Trungpa. Each day I think of another favorite. Today: Which ever one happens, hold your seat. This saying means, if you have a "good" day, just wait, things will change! While this probably sounds pessimistic to Western senses, it is actually quite wonderful. It admonishes us not to hold on too tightly to the good or to hold on too tightly to the bad. That kind of "holding" is the ego seeking solid ground. And, how true! I hear myself (or Satya) pronouncing what kind of "day" it was.
To hold your seat in the Buddhist sense is to be patient, to remain unattached, un-reliant on certain things happening or maintaining. To hold your seat is to be just as open to bad things happening as to good things.
I chuckle over this tonight, as I look back on a "good" day. I hope I have the courage tomorrow morning when I wake to welcome the day and all the good and bad it will bring.
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